WordPress · Free + Pro · v3.1.1
Run direct display ads and cloaked affiliate links free. Add Pro to accept paid classifieds and let members buy and launch their own campaigns through a self-serve Advertiser Portal. Five ad types. Sixteen placements. Server-side tracking. AdSense + direct rotation in the same slot.
Four surfaces, one plugin
Display ads and link management ship free. The Pro classifieds marketplace and Advertiser Portal hand selling to your members. Each module is independent - turn on what you need, ignore the rest. Canonical step-by-step flows at store.wbcomdesigns.com/wb-ad-manager/docs.
Free plugin · Ad Management
For: Site owner
Five ad types (image, rich content, HTML/JS code, AdSense, email capture), 16+ placements, scheduling + frequency caps. Geo-targeting by country ships free.
Pro · Advertiser Portal
For: Member / advertiser
Self-serve Advertiser Portal. Members sign up, top up wallet credits, buy an Ad Package you defined, submit creative. You approve and the ad runs against your inventory.
Pro · Classifieds
For: Member / seller
Marketplace for items, jobs, rentals, services. Built-in categories + custom fields per category. Members submit, pay if required, browse + send inquiries.
Free + Pro · Link Management
For: Site owner / editor
Wrap partnership URLs in branded /go/<slug> redirects with click tracking, free. Pro adds CSV bulk import (a ThirstyAffiliates or Pretty Links export works once its header row matches the sample file), keyword auto-linking, the link scanner and broken-link detection.
How it works
Download the free WB Ad Manager from wbcomdesigns.com. Two independent free tools: the ad manager and the link cloaker. Classifieds arrives when you add Pro.
Five ad types (image, rich content, HTML/JS code, AdSense, email capture) drop into 16+ placement hooks across the site. Affiliate links cloak to branded /go/<slug> URLs with one click.
Server-side impression + click tracking in free. Upgrade to Pro for the advertiser portal, classifieds, A/B testing, CSV export, and geo + device analytics.
Who it's for
Each playbook covers setup, pricing model, ad inventory, and the exact settings to flip.
Direct ad sales
Sell sidebar + in-article + header inventory to sponsors directly. Higher CPMs than programmatic on niche audiences.
Read the playbook →Self-serve ad platform
Pro: members buy credits, build their own campaigns, you set inventory + commission. Reddit/Facebook model on WordPress.
Read the playbook →Paid classifieds (Pro)
Craigslist-style classifieds with built-in categories, search, paid posting + featured upgrades. Ships with Pro.
Read the playbook →AdSense + direct hybrid
AdSense and a sponsor share a slot, weighted by a 1-10 priority. Schedule the sponsor's dates; AdSense keeps the slot to itself before and after.
Read the playbook →Full-stack publisher
Display ads and cloaked affiliate links run from one plugin. Sponsored posts and newsletter slots stay yours to manage, with a cloaked /go/ link counting their clicks.
Read the playbook →Link partnerships + cloaking
Branded /go/<slug> URLs for sponsored, affiliate, partner links. Server-side click tracking free; CSV bulk import with Pro.
Read the playbook →Everything in one plugin
AdRotate handles only display ads. ClassiPress only does classifieds. WB Ad Manager covers all of it in one product line with one admin dashboard, one update schedule, and shared tracking. AdSense + direct ads rotate in the same slot automatically.
Image banners, rich content (HTML), HTML/JS code (Ezoic / Mediavine tags), native AdSense integration, email capture forms.
Before / after content, after a paragraph you pick, a sidebar widget, header bar, footer bar, before and after the archive post list, around comments, BuddyPress feed, bbPress topics.
Put AdSense and a sponsor in the same slot and they share it. Each page view shows one, weighted by priority (1-10). Schedule the sponsor's dates; AdSense keeps the slot to itself before and after.
Real impressions + clicks, not pixel-counted. CTR per ad in free. Geo + device breakdowns and CSV export come with Pro analytics.
Tag ads by sponsor, season, or format, as many tags per ad as you need. Filter the ads list by tag, then enable or disable that whole group in one action.
Browse ads as folders by advertiser, campaign, and tag, plus a House ads folder for anything unassigned. Pause a campaign or switch a whole folder on or off in one click, across every matching ad rather than the visible page.
Grid and list views visitors switch between, plus an optional map view. Built-in categories + custom fields per category, search filters, paid posting through your existing WooCommerce or membership billing.
Front-end member dashboard. Wallet credits, Ad Packages you define, submission queue, real-time impression + spend reports. Single shortcode: [wbam_advertiser_dashboard].
Top up through direct Stripe or PayPal, or through adapters for WooCommerce, WooCommerce Subscriptions, WooCommerce Memberships, Paid Memberships Pro and MemberPress. Use the billing stack you already run.
Branded /go/<slug> URLs with nofollow and sponsored options per link, and the partnership inquiry workflow, ship free. Pro adds keyword auto-linking, the link scanner, CSV import, and advanced link analytics.
No third-party tracking pixels on your pages, IP anonymization, a configurable ad label, AdSense policy-safe code rendering.
Compare
| Alternative | What you give up | WB Ad Manager |
|---|---|---|
| ThirstyAffiliates + Pretty Links + ClickMagick | $200-900/yr across 3 plugins + SaaS, no shared dashboard | One free plugin. Cloaking + tracking unified. |
| AdRotate Pro / Advanced Ads Pro | $49-149/yr for ad-management-only. Classifieds + cloaking sold separately. | Ads + cloaks free in one install; classifieds with Pro. |
| Google Ad Manager (DFP) for self-serve | Enterprise tool. Engineering required to wire member self-serve. | Front-end advertiser dashboard built in (Pro). |
| OLX / Marketplace plugins for classifieds | Built for general consumer marketplaces; weak fit for niche communities. | Niche-first classifieds with category + custom fields. |
When you outgrow free
The free plugin runs direct ads + cloaking. Pro adds the classifieds marketplace and lets your members sign up as advertisers, top up credits, and run their own campaigns against your inventory. You set the rate card and keep the revenue.
Common questions
Yes. The free WB Ad Manager runs the link cloaker + ad manager (5 ad types, 16+ placements, geo-targeting by country). No SaaS fees, no quota, no license key. The classifieds marketplace is part of Pro. Distributed as a free download from wbcomdesigns.com.
No. The core plugin works on any WordPress install. WooCommerce (or a supported membership plugin) is only needed for Pro credit top-ups and paid classifieds posting. BuddyPress is optional; when active you get community ad placements, plus portal profile tabs in Pro.
No. The plugin renders AdSense ad code unchanged, caps all ads on a page with a Max ads per page setting (default 10), and uses temporary redirects on cloaked affiliate links, with nofollow and sponsored options on each. AdSense and a direct sponsor can share one slot, weighted by priority.
Yes, with Pro: export your links to CSV from ThirstyAffiliates or Pretty Links, rename the header row to the columns the Pro importer expects (name, destination_url and slug; a sample file shows them), then import. There is no column-mapping screen. The cloaking prefix is configurable so existing /go/ style backlinks keep working.
Members sign up as advertisers (separate WordPress role), top up credits via your existing WooCommerce / membership billing, build campaigns in a front-end dashboard, submit for moderation, and run them against your rate card. You set CPM / CPC prices. Plugin tracks spend, deducts credits, reports per campaign.
Pro is $59/year for Personal (1 site), $129/year for Professional (5 sites), and $299/year for Agency (unlimited sites). Every tier includes the full Pro feature set: Advertiser Portal, wallet, classifieds, A/B testing, analytics. Tiers differ by site count. If you would rather pay once, lifetime licenses are $199 / $299 / $499. Every purchase includes a 30-day money-back guarantee.
The free plugin is a complete production setup for direct ad sales + affiliate cloaking. Or spin up the InstaWP sandbox for a pre-configured WordPress install with WB Ad Manager Pro pre-activated.
Yes. WB Ad Manager uses WordPress core hooks and inherits theme styles, so it works with any theme. The plugin also has hooks for GeneratePress, Astra, Genesis, OceanWP, BuddyX and Reign. No specific theme dependency.
Free plugin: community docs and the Wbcom support site. Pro licenses: priority email support at wbcomdesigns.com/support/ with one-business-day response. Documentation lives at store.wbcomdesigns.com/wb-ad-manager/docs/.
Wbcom Designs - WordPress agency since 2013. 4.7/5 on Trustpilot from 90+ reviews. We ship community + commercial WordPress plugins (BuddyX, Reign, Jetonomy, WPMediaVerse, Learnomy, WP Career Board) plus AI workflows for enterprise teams.
Install the free plugin, drop your first ad into the sidebar, see real impressions and clicks before lunch.